The presentation of graphics, charts, and written materials for teaching and for business conferences and other meetings has evolved significantly over the years. The present invention relates generally to portable display modules, and more particularly to a display easel for a flip chart or other visual aid having a collapsible leg assembly with foldable legs for easier transportation and storage.
The traditional artist's easel often takes the form of a tripod-like frame adapted to hold a canvas at a proper angle for an artist's convenience. Over the years, the easel has evolved into an all-purpose support with various leg assemblies for various types of removable and replaceable displays.
Flip chart presentations, for example, are frequently made in boardrooms, conference rooms, and other meeting places. As a result, an easel designed to hold flip charts or other visual aids must be easily portable, and storable between various locations and various uses. Furthermore, the typical easel is not well suited for easy, compact transport and storage.
From a user's perspective, the ease of assembly, use, and operation, as well as the ability to transport and store the easel are important points of consideration. It is preferable to have an easel wherein the legs are individually foldable to reduce the easel to a compact size for transportation and storage. It is also preferable to have an easel that may be removably connected to other equipment to further facilitate efficient transportation and/or storage. Additionally, it is preferable that the entire easel does not occupy an inordinate amount of space while being stored.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an easy to use collapsible easel with individual foldable legs.
Various designs for easels and presentation devices are disclosed in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,217 entitled “Stackable Presentation Board With Collapsible Legs and Pad Holder” discloses a presentation board with legs collapsible into a rear surface of the body of the presentation board. U.S. Pat. No. 6,889,952 entitled “Multi-Position Presentation Easel” discloses a portable easel having a frame and a display panel movably coupled to the frame. U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,266 entitled “Collapsible Easel” discloses a collapsible easel having three elongated telescoping legs. None of the disclosures in these patents teach or suggest a portable easel having individual collapsible, foldable legs or an apparatus for connecting the easel to other equipment during transport and storage.